Safe and Warm

We are having our annual week of serious winter right now.  The tree branches reached out to catch the fluff, and down it came, and came, and came.  It was too much snow for them to bear, and many branches broke and fell.  The clinic has held shorter hours, and much of my little town has shut down to await the melt.  This year I had the studded tires put on the day before it snowed, instead of the day after.  It’s a better strategy.

Thanks to meteorological technology, we knew it was coming and had time to buy extra groceries.  We’ve been eating in and with our neighbors, and watching movies. As a lifetime member of the Writer’s Guild (WGA), Mary gets screener copies of films that are hoping to earn writing nominations.  These are the copies that end up pirated on the Internet.  Each one comes with an agonizing array of dire warnings onscreen about this, and you can’t scroll past them, but I’m willing to endure these boring threats of huge fines and imprisonment in order to see current films legitimately for free.

Though it’s probably going to win awards in other categories besides writing, the one I’ve liked best so far is (The Descendants), directed and co-written (adapted from a novel) by Alexander Payne.  It’s the story of a hereditary land baron (George Clooney) and formerly emotionally remote parent forced to take on the needs of his growing daughters when his wife is rendered comatose by an accident.  He also must simultaneously contend with a gaggle of discordant cousins fighting over how to most profitably dispose of a huge parcel of prime real estate.

Besides the allure of beautiful Hawaii as a setting for the story, the film sports a greater number of expert and memorable performances than any other I’ve seen in the past year.  Payne’s signature style is dark comedy.  He previously directed Election and Sideways.  This time his direction has produced a subtler balance, a buoyant spirit that lightens the tone, protecting the characters from drowning in the depressing situations they face.  Not everyone in the film ends up happy, but most viewers will.

Our new guide dog trainee, Spice, is well built for snow or any other kind of water.  She has webbed feet, and a coat that insulates her and repels moisture.  Labs were originally bred to retrieve fishing nets.  She burrows into the snow, bounces about, and does her business easily.  Then she comes back in and cuddles with us as we dry her off with a towel.

Because she is more submissive and cooperative than the last dog, she will sit at our feet as her meals are being prepared, and not lunge at the dish until she has been given permission.  If a guide dog were to jump up, a blind handler might spill the food.  She is generally affectionate and attentive, though she will try to mouth us when she is tired.  That’s not allowed.  Young puppies can be prone to minor infections, and Spice came to us with them in both ears, but she allows us to cleanse and medicate them without squirming.  I still have hope for this one to progress farther in the training.  For now I will put on the kettle, start the fireplace, and settle in.  I hope you are all safe and warm, too.

Commedia dell Farte

Look, I know you moms must go through this sort of thing.

Living Longer & Being Taller

A World Map of Life Expectancy

I’ve been reading some fascinating discussions in the Forums that reflect common misconceptions many people hold about height and longevity, and what determines them.

Superdog II

Saturday was our seventeenth wedding anniversary.  We had a nice Mexican dinner at a place on Highway 19, and turned in early.  We both knew our gift would arrive Sunday.  Sunday was the day we picked up our second (potential) guide dog puppy.

Rethinking the N-Word

If you don’t think there’s a right time and place and purpose for every word, you and I have a serious disagreement.

A Christmas Clip Show

Page to Screen

Books and movies aren’t the same thing.  That should be obvious on the face of it, but I’ve read hundreds of articles here and in all kinds of publications that miss that central, inescapable point.  A film adaptation will never, can never and shouldn’t be evaluated on the basis of being “like the book”.

Hot Button Home Run

The last (and only previous) time I referred to TIME, the magazine, was in a review of their article on the possible non-existence of hell, which they teased on the cover and then didn’t really address.  This time I think TIME hit one out of the park.  They chose a concept as “Person of the Year” – The PROTESTER.

The Leavening

An extraordinary, miraculous effect occurs as one calendar year begins preparing an exit and the next one prepares for birth.  There’s a lightening of mood.

I Put a Spell on Me

Hmmm…  Better trim up for work.

Black Pepper Friday?

The region of the United States I used to be from is well known for setting trends.  Folks there are the pioneers of all sorts of innovations, good and bad.  A couple of holiday seasons back, prospective customers in Palm Springs were shooting each other over the availability of some price-reduced TVs.  I’m glad to say that sort of dangerous behavior has evolved and improved since.

Thanks for Writing

… and for reading.

A very poetic and concise writer, whose name I assume is Trish (http://actionfiguretrish.com/) “liked” my last post.  When I went over to her space, she had posted a reminder of an incredibly gracious and meaningful speech I read a long time ago and had forgotten.

Internet Justice

There were these college students who were objecting to huge hikes in tuition.  It’s one of those “clear messages” people have been demanding of protesters in the Occupy movement.

This Is Possible

It’s time for a re-statement of why I write here.  It isn’t just for me.  I have this strange vision of a place where almost everyone is welcome.  I’m committed to RADICAL INCLUSIVITY.

Career Change

Yesterday I had to work late at the Urgent Care.  As a result, I was unable to accompany my wife and our guide-dog-puppy-in-training to the meeting of the puppy club.

Small Town Free Press

For a couple of years before we moved from Los Angeles County (pop. gazillions) to Port Townsend, WA (pop. 9k), I read the weekly newspaper online as a way to familiarize myself with Washington’s issues and interests.

Letting Go of the Books

It has taken a week, but I moved 50 boxes of books from storage back to the house and put them in piles by subject.  In order to be freer from materialism, you have to free yourself of material (duh).

Would It Kill Ya?

“What did I do wrong?”

You’ll have to pardon me for over-simplifying.  I’m busy training a puppy, and all lessons need to be reduced to basics to minimize the time required to learn them.  Ready?  If you treat people nicely, they are more likely to cut you some slack even if it’s against the rules to be nice back to you.

Building and Letting Go

Our guide-dog-puppy-in-training is 14 weeks old now.  She’s bright, energetic and confident.  Much of her happy demeanor is reinforced by success in performing routines.  The biggest challenge for her has been learning to restrain herself when she encounters new people

10 Scares You Shouldn’t Miss

It’s less than two weeks until Halloween, the holiday that empowers children, usually the victims of the rest of the big, scary world, to become the scary ones themselves for one night.  All of us were children once.  Now that we’ve survived, it’s fun to look back on the kinds of things that once filled us with fear.  Here are ten seldom seen spooky movies to get you in the right mood.